The anti gunners, and hence the media, claim 40% of guns are sold without background checks. Anyone know where they ginned up that number. Seems extraordinarily high to me.

I think I found the primary source of this statistic. Which as you'll note says "Perhaps" and then fails to provide any reference

Quote:

Today, private parties can buy
and sell many guns a year while
claiming not to be engaged in
the business. Perhaps 40% of all
gun sales nationwide — roughly
6.6 million transactions in 2008
— are made by private parties.
Moreover, private parties can sell
handguns to anyone 18 years of
age or older; licensed retailers
cannot sell handguns to anyone
under 21 years of age